THE Friends of the Palmiet Nature Reserve (FPNR) held their first annual Freedom Day event to celebrate the environmental rights enshrined in the South African Constitution.
The Friends of the Palmiet Nature Reserve was established to conserve, protect, improve and promote the beautiful Palmiet Nature Reserve in central Westville.
The Westville Conservancy, the Botanical Society of South Africa, the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), MeL: art.culture.heritage, Bergtheil Local History Museum, ArrowSA and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife all joined the Friends of the Palmiet Nature Reserve to celebrate on the day.
Also read: Multilingual educational book launched at Bergtheil Museum
The event was officially opened by the FPNR chair, Linda Smith, and the event coordinator, Lenard Hall, who went to great lengths to ensure that the event was running smoothly and was as successful an occasion as it was.
Suncana Bradley of the FPNR led walks as part of the City Nature Challenge. Dr Mary Lange, Jean Senogles, Aslina Madikizela of MeL and Ayanda Simelane of ArrowSA led walks and held interactive talks in the boma, including the public handling of natural and cultural artefacts.
This provided a fascinating journey through time to appreciate the rich history, archaeology and indigenous knowledge of the use of fauna and flora preserved and conserved in the Palmiet Nature Reserve.
They also emphasised the importance of public involvement in maintaining such natural and cultural heritage sites as the PNR through voting.
Members of the public took the opportunity to learn more about each organisation, buy plants and books, join the organisations and buy food and drink from the refreshment stalls on hand.
UKZN Prof Lauren Dyll of CCMS said the event was ‘amazing!’ and that she and her sons and family visited all the stalls.
“We had a fabulous time at the event with my sons and bought breakfast, lunch and treats from other stalls. At the uShaka table, the boys enjoyed the ecology puzzles.
“At the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife stall, there was much excitement as the boys answered a question correctly related to the information they had gained that day, and each won a fluffy toy. It was a lovely morning, and I felt revived,” said an enthused Prof Dyll.
The FPNR team thanked the eThekwini Municipality Parks Department for permission to hold the event at the reserve.
For more from the Highway Mail, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok
